Microsoft is starting to comply with the UK’s Online Safety Act by prompting Xbox players to verify their age today. The prompts will be shown to Xbox players who indicate they’re over the age of 18 and will be shown when you sign into an Xbox account in the UK. Microsoft says it’s also exploring bringing similar age verification tools to other countries in the future.
To power the age verification in the UK, Microsoft is partnering with Yoti, which is one of the services that hasn’t fallen victim to the Death Stranding photo mode bypass. While the age verification checks are optional right now, they will become a requirement to access a variety of Xbox services in early 2026, when additional parts of the UK’s Online Safety Act come into force.
“Starting early next year, age verification will be required for these players in the UK to retain full access to social features on Xbox, such as voice or text communication and game invites,” explains Kim Kunes, vice president of gaming trust and safety at Xbox. If you don’t verify your age between now and early next year, social features “will become limited to friends only” until the age verification process has been completed.
“Whether a player verifies their age will not affect any previous purchases, entitlements, gameplay history, achievements, or the ability to play and purchase games, however we encourage players to verify their age via this one-time process now to avoid uninterrupted use of social features on Xbox in the future,” Kunes says.
While this is limited to Xbox players in the UK right now, Kunes says, “We expect to roll out age verification processes to more regions in the future.” Microsoft isn’t revealing which other regions will get similar age verification requirements, but Kunes does note that “these methods may look different across regions and experiences.”
If you’re in the UK, then you can verify your age for your Xbox account online through Microsoft, where you can use a selfie, a scan of your passport or driver’s license, a credit card check, or a mobile number.
